The invention relates to the on demand preparation of beverages or sauces from water-dispersible foodstuffs. More specifically, the invention relates to automatic dispensing devices for preparing the beverages or sauces, refills for use in the dispensing device, and a method of manufacturing the refills.
It is a known practice to prepare beverages from pulverulent compositions based on coffee, cocoa, or the like in automatic dispensers. The process involves mixing a specified amount of a powder with a specified volume of cold or hot water to reconstitute a beverage. In general, the powder is stored xe2x80x9cin bulkxe2x80x9d in one or more reservoirs located in the upper part of the dispenser. The powder is collected in a hopper which is a downward extension of the reservoir and a metering device, such as a metering screw, is positioned horizontally downstream of the hopper to supply the desired amount of powder to be mixed with water on demand of the user. The powder and the water are typically mixed directly in the beverage container or in an intermediate mixing bowl. The beverage is then dispensed for consumption by the user.
This method of preparing beverages, however, has numerous drawbacks. For example, the dispensers need to be regularly supplied with the pulverulent powder which requires pouring the powder into the reservoirs by tipping a container of the powder. This method of loading is not very practical, is non-hygienic, and takes a long time to perform. In addition, in order for the device to have a sufficient service capacity, relatively large volumes of powder are held in the reservoir, which requires a relatively bulky dispensing device. A large dispensing device can be a major drawback especially when the dispenser needs to be used in tight spaces, such as when the dispensers are installed in the catering service of public transportation facilities such as aircraft, trains, and the like.
The powdered products are also highly sensitive to heat and moisture while they are in storage and lumps of product often tend to form that can lead to problems with metering and/or the dispensing device becoming blocked. Similarly, powdered compositions typically undergo oxidation quickly because the powdered or agglomerated granular product has a relatively large surface area that is in contact with ambient air. Oxidation results in a loss of flavor and freshness.
Another drawback with known dispensing devices is the production of xe2x80x9cfinesxe2x80x9d that result when agglomerated solids, such as those based on coffee, for example, become disagglomerated. These xe2x80x9cfinesxe2x80x9d form a dust that tends to settle out and accumulate at the bottom of the hoppers or reservoirs. The accumulation of xe2x80x9cfinesxe2x80x9d makes metering less accurate. Regular maintenance is therefore required in order to clean the machine. This results in significant waste of raw material.
Yet another drawback with known dispensing devices results from the absence of a physical correspondence or tailoring between the powdered composition and the dispensing device, so that the powdered composition that is intend to be used in the device can be substituted for by any arbitrary type of powdered composition, which may be of inferior quality. Thus, the quality of the final product is difficult to control and the consumer can no longer be assured of obtaining a quality product.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,237,910 relates to a beverage dispenser that feeds powder or granules into a hopper from storable cartridges. The cartridges are opened by mechanical means such as knives. Such a system, however, has many of the drawbacks associated with the storage and feed of pulverulent foodstuffs in conventional dispensers.
There remains a need for improved methods of preparing and dispensing, on demand, beverages or sauces from water-dispersible foodstuffs.
The present invention is directed to a device for preparing beverages. The device includes one or more pressing units for urging one or more solid refills of a water-dispersible foodstuff along a guide surface that directs the refill in a first direction along a first axis towards one or more abrading devices so that the refill contacts the abrading device and the abrading device abrades the refill to provide an amount of powdered foodstuff, a collector to collect the powdered foodstuff, and a liquid supply to provide one or more liquids to be mixed with the powdered foodstuff.
The abrading device may be a rotary element comprising an abrading surface that is substantially cylindrical in shape with an axis of rotation that is substantially perpendicular to the first direction. The rotary element may have a diameter of 25 to 35 mm and rotates at between about 200 and 2060 rotations per minute. The guide surface may be positioned above the axis of rotation of the rotary element. In another embodiment the abrading device may have a planar surface provided with a rectlinear motion that is substantially perpendicular to the first direction. The rectlinear motion may be provided by an abrasion strip supported by rollers.
The device may also include a feed unit for continually providing a refill to the pressing unit. The feed unit may be positioned adjacent to the pressing unit to provide a refill onto the guide surface along the first axis after the pressing unit has retreated by a sufficient length so that a refill can be positioned between the pressing unit and the abrading device. The feed unit may include a reservoir and a transverse pushing member, wherein the reservoir is capable of containing one or more refills stacked vertically on top of each other and aligned substantially parallel to and adjacent to the first direction and having an opening to allow the lowermost refill in the vertical stack to be urged by the transverse pushing member in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction to position the lowermost refill on the guide surface along the first axis. The device may also include a detection element to determine when the pressing unit has retreated by a sufficient length.
The collector may be a removable serving container or the device may further include a mixing chamber to mix the powdered foodstuff and the liquid before the powdered foodstuff and liquid is deposited in the collector.
The invention is also directed to a method for preparing a beverage. The method involves the steps providing a solid refill of a water-dispersible foodstuff in solid form having a length, mechanically abrading the refill with an abrading device to release an amount of abraded foodstuff, collecting the abraded foodstuff in a collector, and combining the abraded foodstuff with a liquid to provide a beverage. The amount of abraded foodstuff may be determined by measuring the mass of abraded foodstuff collected in the collector or may be determined by measuring a reduction in the length of the refill.
The invention is also directed to a refill of a pulverulent foodstuff that can be dispersed in a liquid medium that has been compacted into a solid form that can be abraded to form powdered granules, flakes, or chips. The refill may be in the form of a bar, stick, pellet, plug, or tablet. In one embodiment the refill is parallelepipedal shape, has a mass of from about 10 to 200 g, and a mass per unit volume of between about 0.75 and 1.65 g/cm3. The pulverulent foodstuff may be one or more of compositions based on powdered or agglomerated concentrates of soluble coffee, cocoa, milk, chicory, soups, or sauces. The foodstuff may be a coffee powder obtained from atomized coffee and have a mass per unit volume of from about 200 to 250 g/liter and a moisture content of from about 3.5 to 5 percent. The refill may also be a fruit containing composition.
The invention is also directed to a method of manufacturing a refill of water-dispersible material. The method involves the steps of providing an amount of a pulverulent foodstuff in a mold, applying sufficient pressure to the pulverulent foodstuff for sufficient time to compact the pulverulent foodstuff and form a solid refill; and releasing the solid refill from the mold. The method may also include a step of heating the pulverulent foodstuff. The pulverulent material may be heated to a temperature of between about 20 and 80xc2x0 C. The pressure may be between about 20 and 50 Mpa. The pressure may be sufficient to provide a compression factor of from about 3 to 5 or sufficient to provide a refill having a mass per unit volume of between about 0.75 and 1.65 g/cm3.
A second method of manufacturing a refill includes the steps of extruding a pulverulent foodstuff to provide a continuous strip that exits the extruder in a first direction, rolling the continuous strip between rollers oriented in at least two directions that are perpendicular to the first direction to form a rolled strip having a substantially uniform mass per unit volume, and cutting the continuous strip into sections to provide the refill.